Mexican activist had fled, shot when he returned

Human rights officials say an Indian environmentalist shot to death in Mexico had fled his community almost 10 years ago and was killed when he returned to visit a sick relative.

Raramuri Indian leader Isidro Baldenegro was the second winner of the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize to be slain in two years.

The U.N. Human Rights Commissioner and Mexico's National Human Rights Commission said Friday that Baldenegro left the community of Coloradas de la Virgin after receiving threats and was shot when he returned Sunday.

Baldenegro led an anti-logging campaign in the Tarahumara mountains, some of northern Mexico's last old-growth forests.

He was jailed in 2003 for alleged illegal arms and marijuana possession, but the charges were dropped a year later after prosecutors said police committed abuses.